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Announcing the publication of a new Governance Manual for Primary Schools 2015- 2019, Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan TD, thanked the many thousands of volunteers across the country, including thousands of parents, who have served on primary school Boards of Management over the last four years.

Elections will be arranged by individual schools over the coming weeks for appointments to new Boards of Management that will take up office from 1st December next.

The Board of Management structure has been in place for 40 years and each term of office sees thousands of volunteers help with the running and organisation of the over 3,100 primary schools in Ireland. There are generally eight members per Board, two of whom are parent representatives. Membership is designed to reflect all the different interests in the school community (patron, parents, teachers and wider community).

The Governance manual being launched today sets out the various rules regarding the composition and operation of Boards, and provides a helpful overview of the role of the Board. A new element included in this manual is provision to allow schools to operate a “shared governance arrangement” on a voluntary and pilot basis during the forthcoming four year term.

Minister O’Sullivan said: “I would like to thank the volunteers who have contributed enormously to the management and operation of our schools. I very much recognise and appreciate the commitment they have shown to ensuring that schools are managed so as to provide all pupils with the best possible education.

“In order to achieve this objective, Boards must have a very clear understanding of their governance role and responsibilities and must be fully aware of the importance of good communications with the community. This Manual will greatly help Board members with their role.”

“For the first time, this manual sets out a mechanism under which schools can elect 12 members to serve as the boards of management for two schools. While such boards will still be required to maintain separate accounts and minutes, and to hold separate meetings (which may be held consecutively), this is the first time that these rules make provision for schools to pilot a shared governance arrangement. We will arrange for ongoing review of the pilot in consultation with the relevant stakeholders which may result in changes being identified in future years that would allow for shared governance to become a more embedded feature of the school landscape.

“Appropriate training for Board members is hugely important for successfully managing a school, and I am grateful to the various management bodies for their provision of training, advice and guidance to Boards of Management. I am also very pleased that my Department is supporting an increased focus on the use of online training to facilitate the delivery of training modules for each Board member.”

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